Friday, March 30, 2007

A few days ago, Colombian singer Carlos Vivesinsulted Shakira's decision to crossover into the North American market by singing in English.Vives- whose claim to fame was recycling old vallenato music- conveniently ignored how she’s called the shots to her English-language albums.Though guided by Emilio Estefan, Shakira was practically given full creative control of her musical content in English.Perhaps Carlitos is jealous that his career is pretty much done and that his knowledge of English may be enough to get him by while vacationing in Miami?

The Vives-Shakira debate reminds me of this post from blogger Muruch’s review of the latest album from Puerto Rican singer Zayra Alvarez.A former contestant on reality show “Rockstar: Supernova,” Zayra’s album was released in both Spanish and English.Muruch feels that Zayra’s Spanish songs are far superior to those in English “as singing in Spanish seems to give her pretty voice much more strength”. (Maybe Vives was on to something? Gulp!)

Zayra – Lluvia de Mar (File removed upon request)

Earlier this week, Jennifer Lopez (sorry, I refuse to call her by her nickname!) took a trip back to her old stomping grounds in the Bronx.No, it wasn’t for charitable or benevolent reasons but rather to promote her upcoming Spanish-language (reverse crossover?) album.Though not his “cup of tea”, Chapín over at La Onda Tropicaltook a listen to her album and recommends it to those who “have a soft spot for tacky lyrics, and don't mind enduring the horrible music.”Pity it will most likely become a platinum album.

Speaking of tours, English artist Morrissey announced of an extensive tour of the U.S. starting in late April. An interesting aspect about Morrissey is that he has a rabid and loyal fan base amongst Mexican-American fans in southern California and southwestern U.S.In response to his adoration amongst Chicanos, Morrissey recorded “First of the Gang to Die” in 2003.It is a great rock tune that differs greatly from the dark, depressing sounds that he was best known for as lead singer of The Smiths.(I suppose I should clarify that I’m a big fan of “Moz” as evidenced by theseposts).

Reggaeton has become one of the hottest musical genres in the Hispanic market.Entering the fray is seven-year-old Miguelito who is trying his best to emulate the urban thug look in his album cover.Masala has a clip of Miguelito’s music; judge for yourself if he belongs in the studio or at home playing on an Xbox.

Lastly, we’ll end on a smooth note with the dulcet sounds of Brazilian chanteuse Maria Rita.We mentioned Rita in a previous post last May but it’s worth mentioning her again since her smooth and velvety voice is the perfect way to wind down after a busy week.

Lastly, this is not a blog post, but a news report on how some students in Sacramentowalked out of class as a way of honoring Chavez.Though Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday in California, it is up to school districts to decide whether or not to close school today.(Sounds odd, doesnt’ it?)

Below is video of New Mexico governor Bill Richardson’s appearance Wednesday night on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Richardson explains why he is “the most qualified candidate to be president” and confesses how cultural differences nearly derailed negotiations with Saddam Hussein in 1995.

Indigenous communities in the Amazonian rainforest will get free Internet access according to the Brazilian government.The aim behind the measure is for residents in the Amazon to denounce illegal logging and ranching activities.“It's a way to open communications between indigenous communities...to the rest of society,” said Environmental Minister Maria though local governments will be in charge of providing computers.

“If you’re serious about tackling poverty…you have to be serious about trying new things” said New York mayor Michael Bloomberg (image)announcing a pilot program to combat poverty. Under the joint public-private sector program modeled after a plan in Mexico city, impoverished families will receive cash incentives in the areas of education, labor and health care and could earn between $3000-5000 yearly.

“Two executives at a company that once helped build a fence to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border were sentenced Wednesday to six months of home confinement for hiring undocumented workers.”

Thursday, March 29, 2007

An absolutely disheartening tale out of a suburban town near Washington, DC where a Salvadoran father may have killed his four children before hanging himself.The kids- ages 9, 4, 3, and 1 year old- where found in their beds dead of unknown causes.

The press is painting the portrait of an immigrant family trying to live the “American dream” with Pedro Rodriguez and Deysi Benitez working odd jobs for nearly 7 years in order to provide a future for their children.Neighbors of the family praised them and considered them as very “nice”.

Colombia’s government has just begun to spring into life in response to a health crisis in Chocó province.Though the government has been on the defensive citing the funds they have sent to Chocó, local health officials and community leaders have claimed an increase in the number of children affected by severe malnutrition and hunger.

Former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos said Tuesday that it would be a “huge mistake” to assume Latin America’s recent election results veer toward the “left,” El Universal reported. Instead, he told the Committee on Latin American Affairs, Spanish Senate, democracy is rising in the region as voters focus on the opportunity for change. Lagos did acknowledge that the “division of power” in Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador is troubling, but dismissed the idea of a Chávez influence.

Under the headline “Condemned to premature death by hunger and thirst more than 3 billion people of the world," Cuba’s Granma newspaper published an article by ex-dictator Fidel Castro condemning U.S. environmental policy.Fidel condemned “the sinister idea of using food as fuel” by the U.S. though he did not comment on biofuel usage promoted by several Latin American countries like Brazil and Mexico.

Fidel’s article can be read here (in Spanish), though here are a few key translated quotes:

The sinister idea of using food as fuel was definitely established as the economic component of U.S. foreign policy.

The tragedy is not in reducing energy but in the notion of converting foodstuffs into fuel.

Give financing to poor counties to produce ethanol from corn or some other crop and there won’t be a single tree to defend humanity against global warming.

In our country, lands that are used for alcohol production would be more suitable to produce food for the people and to protect the environment.

All the countries of the world, rich and poor, without exception could save millions of dollars…switching all incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs, something that Cuba has done in all homes throughout the country.

There are other topics that can be discussed, yet I merely wish to use this article to comment on the meetings (U.S. President George W.) Bush has had with the main North American auto firms.

Update: Brazil is an area of "pilgrimage" for developing alternatives to fossil fuels, said the country's Foreign Minster in an energetic response to Fidel's remarks. (Link via Monsters & Critics).

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Here’s a novel way to reduce deaths related to firearms: Mexico City police started a pilot program in the crime-riddled neighborhood of Tepito to exchange guns with computers and Xbox video game sets.As one Mexico City official noted:

"Imagine how Mexico City would be if there were no guns.Tepito is a barrio known for boxing champions, and now it has turned into a barrio where there were 32 murders last year.''

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner voided a gas and oil exploration contract with Great Britain yesterday as the government increased its rhetoric on sovreignty over the Falklands Islands. The Argentine government justified breaking the agreement by calling the contract a “unilateral action to explore for resources that belong to Argentines.”

In response, British officials deemed Argentina’s decision to strengthen its claims to the islands as “lamentable” and “a step backwards…that impedes future cooperation” between both countries.

Public support and outrage has grown over the past few weeks over a proposed measure which would allow abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy.Proponents of the abortion bill claim that the too many pregnant women, especially from poorer backgrounds, are endangering their lives conducting illegal procedures.According to one federal legislator behind the abortion bill:

“We are in favor of women's life. We don't want women to stop their pregnancies ... but we have a stubborn reality.”

On the other hand there are detractors of the measure, especially conservative political groups and the Roman Catholic Church.They were behind a “pilgrimage for life” demonstration on Sunday (image) in Mexico City even though Mexico’s constitution bans religious organizations from political activity.(That didn’t stop a Latin American Roman Catholic group from publishing ads in Mexican newspapers defending legalized abortion).

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The latest installment of the “Documenta Chile” series on documentaries will be tonight at New YorkUniversity.According to the series’ program, tonight’s double feature is the following:

“MÄ PACHA UTJIANA” – In the interior villages of Quebrada de Tarapaca, the people believe that the voices of their ancestors speak through the rituals, customs, myths and legends of their culture. They believe that these traditions must be respected because they hold the key to maintaining the balance and the harmony between the worlds: the natural world (aka pacha), the spirit world (alex pacha), and our world (manqha pacha). This documentary presents three legends; The Damned – the story of a man who continues living after death; Los Gentiles – the story of the small people who inhabited the earth during a time when the sun did not exist; Tatasavaya – the story of the great hill that both gives life and takes it away. Through these stories and through the rituals of the Feast of Usmagama, the viewer visits the magic universe that surrounds the villages of Tarapaca in a time-defying journey through this rich heritage, still living and running strong like a river.

“TRAGO DULCE/TRAGO AMARGO”- In a small port city in the Atacama Desert, an alcoholic ex-boxer fights his last fight, this time against himself. The man’s life on the docks and in the village leaves no doubt of the tremendous struggle unraveling deep inside him, caught between the senseless nature of his present life and the extraordinary force it takes not to let go completely.

“Documenta Chile” will also air films on April 10th and April 24th. (My apologies for not mentioning about the film series sooner).

"I have got no doubt it was the right thing to do ... for reasons not simply to do with British sovereignty but also because I think there was a principle at stake, which is that ... a land shouldn't be annexed in that way and people shouldn't be put under a different rule in that way."

Over the past year Argentina’s government has become more vocal in its claims to the Falklands which are located 300 miles off the argentine coast.In addition, support for Argentina’s claim has grown amongst Latin American countries and regional economic blocs.

This past Saturday was the 27th anniversary of a dark day in Latin American history- the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero(image). Romero- who was a tireless human rights advocate seeking a peaceful resolution to El Salvador’s civil conflict- was gunned down while giving mass at a San Salvador hospital.

Even in death Augusto Pinochet cannot escape the long arm of the law.Chilean authorities are investigating if Pinochet planned the 1982 poisoning death of ex-president Eduardo Frei Montalva (image).“There's enough evidence to affirm that the death of President Frei Montalva was a homicide,” said a lawyer for Frei’s family.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Renowned author Gabriel Garcia Marquez (a.k.a. Gabo) was lavished with praise from peers and admirers alike during the opening acts of the Fourth Congress of the Spanish Language held in the Colombian city of Medellin.“I can't overcome my surprise for everything that has happened" said Gabo during a ceremony celebrating his extraordinary literary career.Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia as well as former U.S. president Bill Clinton were present at the tribute to Gabo who recently celebrated his eightieth birthday.

Also during the Fourth Congress of the Spanish Language, language experts revealed a new Spanish proficiency exam designed “to unify criteria and evaluation methods for learning and knowledge of the Spanish language”.The test is planned to be universally accepted though the director of the Cervantes Institute observed that architects of the exam were “very careful about respecting the particular (linguistic) characteristics of each country.” Though there are basic commonalities in Spanish throughout the Americas, there are some notable differences as you can read in our "Regional Spanish" page.

While the news may be encouraging for investment and the overall economy of a country, economic development has not met rising growth.In Venezuela, for instance, a miniscule percentage of GDP goes to the poor, while 40% of the region lives below the poverty line.

It is this lack of economic development that has hurt democratic regimes throughout the region.Regardless of a government’s ideology or how much an economy has increased abject poverty continues, and this has gradually led to a lack of public confidence in democracy.

Now we’re not advocating a turn towards fascism or extreme socialism, but something has to be done in order for Latin Americans to regain faith in democracy and its institutions.So what do you think?What changes need to be done?Will democracy continue in the Americas or revert towards extremism?

Several days ago we told you how visa problems were endangering the U.S. tour plans of Mexican brother and sister act Rodrigo y Gabriela.Thankfully, there is good news for us gringos who enjoy their eclectic mix of acoustic rock:

“Rodrigo Sanchez…has successfully procured his Entertainment Working Visa from the American Embassy in Mexico City on Friday March 23, 2007. Mr. Sanchez is officially clear to continue Rodrigo Y Gabriela's highly-anticipated U.S. tour beginning on April 14 in Los Angeles, CA”.

The pair rescheduled several of their gigs in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City and announced new performances in Europe and on July 1st at Central Park.(Yay! Better get the sunscreen ready!)